Cross-folding machine



Oct; 8, 1929. e. SPIESS 1,730,749

' pndss FOLDING momma I Filed y 11. 1928 2 Sheets-Shea 1 Patented a. 8, 192a,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIjC GEORG SPIESS, 0F LEIPZIG-PLAGWITZ, GERMANY \i CROSS-FOLDING MACHINE I Application filed July 11, 1928, Serial No. 291,936, and 'in Germany June 23, 1927. v v

In cross folding machines, in which the sheet undergoes on the way from one folding mechanism to the following one an alteration of the feed direction, the sheet must be adjusted in the new'feed'direction on a rule, along which the previously produced fold edge is led. chines in which the various folding mechanisms and accordingly also the direction change feed devices connecting them are arranged in horizontal planes, and also such folding machines in which the direction change feed tables stand vertically. In the folding machines with direction change feed devices and folding mechanisms arranged horizontally the sheets are pushed, by the push-out rollers of the folding mechanism, forwards on to the direction change feed table, until they are gripped at the fold edge v by inclined pairs of feed rollers, which lead v them onwards in the new feed direction and at the same time draw them up to the adjusting rule determining the new feed direction.

, This device does not effect with sufficient reliability the direction change feeding and adjusting of. the sheet. If short conically arranged pairs of rollers are used, then it is very difficult to attain that the sheets are gripped by the direction change feed rollers immediately after becoming free from the folding mechanism or later. In the first case the sheets become twisted, in the second case they are temporarily left to themselves or do not: arrive at all between the direction change feeding means and the adjusting rule. Further it is per se an inconvenience that the feed rollers only grip on one edge of the sheet. If, however, one employs as a guide for the sheet issuing from the folding mechanism and for its further feeding in the'newfdirection, inclined feed rollers extending over "the whole sheet width, then the sheets are already subjected to an increasing extent to the action of the rollers feeding them in the new direction, whilst they are still held fast at one edge by the foldingmechanism rollers and are fed onwards in the delivering direction. There exists therefore likewise the danger,

There are known folding ma-f rollers, and not earlier that the sheets are deflected from the direction and enter the next folding mechanism in an incorrect position.

'In folding machines with vertically standing direction change feeders for the sheets the sheets issuing from a horizontal folding mechanism drop between vertically standing guide rollers so that the folded edge bears on a r0- tating band serving as feed and registering" means, on which they stand, are guided and partially fed by the previousl mentioned 0 rollers and are fed onwards to t e next folding mechanism. v. VVii: l1' tl1is kind of feeding the upright sheets have no hold and collapse between. their guides. which occurs and the fold edge, the guiding of the sheets which are to be held upright by means of the rollers is technically diflicult to carry out. a If, however, the sheets in a vertical direction change feed issue from a vertical folding mechanism, they must be gripped by inclined direction change feed rollers or cylinders and drawn up to the vertical rule, whereby the same difliculties are caused, as stated above, in respect to the hori-' zontal feeding.

For the elimination of these drawbacks of the known change direction, the feed tables are, according to the invention, arranged inclined in the direction of the deliveringof the sheets from thefoldin'g mechanism and transversely to the running direction which is. later to be imparted to them. Further, for the new running direction, instead of a fixed adjusting rlrle an adjustin in the form of a band rotating in the new runnin direction. Thereby the advantages are com ined which partly belong to the direction change feed devices of known type, i. e.- that the sheets issuing from the folding mechanism are brought up to the adjusting rule, determining the new feed direction, by the action of gravity and that sufiicient friction surface and surface pressure exist between the sheetand its feeding means. In this manner a correctly adjusted feeding of the sheets to a folding mechanism or to a deliveringtable is obtained. j

The drawing illustrates an embodiment of the inventionbyway of example.

The feed friction,

principally between the band -55,

is not strong'enough and mark is provided rollers 11 and table parts Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and

Fig. 2 a rear elevation of a cross folding machine for three folds.

Fig. 3 is a section through the first fpldingmechanism and the next following direction change feed device on line A-B of Fig. 2.

In the machine 1 a roller feed table 2, serving for the laying-on and further conveying to the first folding mechanism, is arranged and has, as usual, rollers mounted in an inclined position and further an adjusting rule, not shown. The first folding mechanism consists of the folding rollers 3, 4. of a driving roller 5 cooperating with the folding roller 3, of a so-called folding plate 6, into which the front part of the sheet is fed by the driving roller pair 3, 5 up to a stop, a deflector 7, which conducts the sheet, coming out from between the folding rollers 8, 4, between the folding roller 4 and a roller 8 designed to feed the sheet to a guide 9. At the delivering end of the guide 9 pairs of rollers 10 are arranged, wlnch convey the sheet on to the change direction feed table connecting the first and second folding mechanism. The latter table is inclined downwards in the running direction of the sheet issuing from the first folding mechanism and is formed by 12 arranged between said rollers, which table parts extend in the direction of the travel of the sheet at the delivering from the folding mechanism. For holding the sheets on the direction change feed table a cover guide in the form of upper rollers 13 parallel to the table rollers 11 is provided. The rollers 11 and eventually also the upper rollers 13 are driven, in the direction in which the sheet is conveyed to the next folding mechanism, by means of spur wheels 14: meshing the one with the other from the folding mechanism rollers of the next following folding mechanism. The effective width of the feed table is limited by an endless traveling belt 15 overhanging the edges of the conveyor remote from the first folding mechanism, which belt serves as a stop for the sheets coming from the first folding mechanism and as an adjusting mark for the further conveying of the sheets in the new direction towards the second folding mechanism, and is likewise driven from the second folding mechanism through the intermediary of a bevel wheel gear 16 in the direction of the conveying of the sheets to the second folding mechanism.

The second folding mechanism, designated as a whole by 17, is arranged substantially in the same manner as the first folding mechanism and mounted laterally from the machine coi frame parallel to the same. It is connected, by a direction change feed device corresponding to the one just described, consisting of alternating rollers 18 and table parts 19, a,

a whole by 21. The sheets ready folded by the latter fall on a sheet delivering nism and from the same to the second folding mechanism, and an adjusting element adja' cent to said conveying table, said second folding mechanism and said conveying table being downwardly inclined in the direction of delivery from the first folding mechanism and transversely to the direction of admission to the second folding mechanism so that the sheet is brought by gravity against said adjusting element. In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. t GEORG SPIESS.

circulating band 20 as lateral adjusting mark,

to a third folding mechanism, designated as table ar- I ranged transversely to the pushing out direc 

